Supporting Those Who Preserve Our History

Events

Thank to everyone who volunteered and participated in Genealogy Day!

Genealogy Day at the Archives October 27, 2018

Pen to Podium: Ben Boulden

A former journalist, professor, historian and author will discuss a historic women’s strike in Fort Smith for the ASA’s fourth Pen to Podium lecture from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13. The event is free.

Ben Boulden, a Fort Smith native, will present material from his book, “Hidden History of Fort Smith, Arkansas,” in the Diamond Conference Room at the Department of Arkansas Heritage at 1100 North St. in Little Rock. The presentation is part of the Arkansas Historical Writers’ Lecture Series through the Arkansas State Archives, a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

The Friends of the Arkansas State Archives will host a reception in the lobby before Boulden’s lecture.

Boulden’s book delves into life in Fort Smith during the days of American westward expansion. For his lecture, he plans to present information about a strike by women telephone operators on Nov. 13, 1917. The strike spurred a general strike, ended up ousting the mayor and indirectly led to women in Arkansas being allowed to vote before the federal government gave women the right to vote.

Boulden is an expert on Fort Smith history who wrote a historical column for the Southwest Times Record, the daily newspaper. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Missouri in 1986 and a master’s degree in history from the University of Arkansas in 1992.

Boulden has taught courses in Arkansas history and American History in the Gilded Age. He served as vice president of the Fort Smith Historical Society, worked on the society’s journal and created fortsmithhistory.org, the society’s website. He served four years on the board of Fort Smith Museum of History.